WE DID IT!!!
We did it! We h*ckin' did it!
Although it happened in agonizing slow motion, the election has wound down with an unofficial tally of the following five candidates securing seats to Boulder City Council:
Mark Wallach
Matt Benjamin 🎉
Nicole Speer 🎉
Lauren Folkerts 🎉
Tara Winer
In THREE of FIVE seats in this election cycle, Boulder progressives WON. That made for this fantastic headline in last week’s Boulder Beat.
THANK YOU for being active voters, for volunteering, for dropping lit, for donating, for spreading the word, and for achieving an actual progressive majority on Boulder’s city council for the first time…ever. We could not be more ecstatic for Matt, Lauren, and Nicole to join Rachel, Aaron, and Junie to steward crucial, transformative policy over the next few years. Once the election results are certified, all three of our candidates will have secured 4-year terms (Tara, with the fifth most votes, will receive a 2-year term).
A major shout-out goes to Dan Williams, our champion of civil rights, a dedicated fighter committed to equity and inclusion. Dan would have made an incredible councilmember, and we are so grateful he stepped in to run a solid race. We look forward to his continued involvement, leadership, and advocacy in the community!
Thanks to Neesha Schnepf from Bedrooms Are For People for this chart of how the election results moved over subsequent ballot count drops. Nothing more exciting than a "come from behind victory" to maximize drama and give you a really rewarding and satisfying pay off in the end!
What’s ahead
Can city council meetings be...enjoyable? We are looking forward with excitement — yes, excitement — to future city council meetings with this progressive majority, and we think you should, too! As far back as the first time any of us tuned in to council, it’s been a slog of delay, obfuscation, and halted progress. Although the path ahead isn’t easy, we’re grateful to have built up a powerful coalition of supporters for progressive policies in housing, transit, racial justice, and climate action.
So, stay tuned for how you can engage with our new council and give them the support they’ll need. In the meantime, follow along tonight (Boulder Beat, Channel 8, Daily Camera) as the newly sworn in council holds their first session.
If you have any progressive policy initiatives you'd love to see them address, send them our way!
We'll check back in a month with more details about how you can get involved with Boards and Commissions and have an impact in your community!
Till then, see you on the social media waves.
-BP
